NASCAR 09 First Look

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Is the new version a competitive racing sim?

By Bill Barnwell

NASCAR 09 is, according to executive producer Scott Stutsman, directly addressing both reviews and the comments the developers saw about the game in online communities. Those complaints in a nutshell? To steal a line from those long-running Dale Jarrett UPS commercials, "We want to drive the car!"

Last year's game had mechanics that may have represented the actual mechanics of a stock car, but, well, we're not NASCAR drivers. The slightest turn or imperfection in the way we drove the car caused it to spin out and end up somewhere we didn't want to be -- namely, in the infield.

So, then, the goal of NASCAR 09 is to retain the simulation aspects of the game that keep it interesting and replayable for hardcore NASCAR fans, while also allowing less skilled drivers to pick up the game right out of the box and play. Does it succeed?

Jeff Gordon will give you advice until, well, you start trying to pass him. Then he gets angry.

So far, we think so. We played a very early version of NASCAR 09 two weeks ago, a version so early that bumping into the wall caused your car to do three spins…while sitting on top of the wall. And then you'd fall into the infield. Assuredly, this will not happen in the final version.

The mechanics of moving the car around the track, though, are certainly simpler. In the standard mode we played in, the car moved around the track with some resistance, but in a realistic-enough manner to both satisfy us while challenging us to do better. Barely missing the line to drive on didn't cause us to desperately have to fumble for control, but instead cost us some speed while allowing us to adjust to the road without almost automatically spinning out. The car's easier to control in the areas that give both fans and NASCAR drivers the most difficulty: Namely, whilst turning and in the corners of the racetrack. EA's retained last year's car model as well, so fans of NASCAR 08's driving mechanic won't be forced to play with this year's model.

Another issue in last year's game was how the AI would react -- namely, we couldn't start a race without that jerk in the Domino's Pizza car bumping us and putting some damage in our poor car. The AI has been improved to be more aware of players and act accordingly -- if a player has a middling reputation, expect them to go after you and take the lead in passing; on the other hand, if a player has a fearsome reputation, those AI cars will give you a free ride on passing right by.

Speaking of the reputation system, it's a basis for many features in NASCAR 09. A number is displayed at the bottom of the screen during non-racing events that details what your current reputation is. It's affected by nearly everything you do in the game -- whether it be leading a lap, passing a star driver, wrecking, or doing well in qualifying -- and, logically, it affects future performance as well. The higher your reputation is, the better your sponsors are, and as mentioned previously, the more likely veteran drivers are to show you respect on the track. When looking for races online in the multiplayer mode, quickmatches will rank you with people similar to your skill level according to your reputation.